The first AUTOSPORT podcast of 2012 looks back at the launches of the new F1 cars and their performances during the opening test of the season. Joining stand-in host Alan Hyde behind the mic are editor-in-chief Andrew van de Burgt, F1 editor Edd Straw and news editor Glenn Freeman, while grand prix editor Mark Hughes joins in on the phone

As well as asking why the new cars - save for the McLaren - are so ugly, we also analyse Kimi Raikkonen's return to the cockpit of an F1 car, and ask whether the Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead this year.

But it's not all F1. We also discuss the impact of Peugeot's withdrawal from sportscar racing, the promoter mess the WRC finds itself in and, in a rare piece of good news, Nissan's decision to take on Ford and Holden in V8 supercar racing.